RomanizationRomanization of Persian or Latinization of Persian is the
representation of the
Persian languagePersian language (Farsi, Dari and Tajik) with
the Latin script. Several different romanization schemes exist, each
with its own set of rules driven by its own set of ideological goals.

RomanizationRomanization paradigms[edit]
Because the Perso-
Arabic scriptArabic script is an abjad writing system (with a
consonant-heavy inventory of letters), many distinct words in standard
Persian can have identical spellings, with widely varying
pronunciations that differ in their (unwritten) vowel sounds. Thus a
romanization paradigm can follow either transliteration (which mirrors
spelling and orthography) or transcription (which mirrors
pronunciation and phonology).
The
Latin scriptLatin script plays in Iran the role of a second script. For the
proof of this assertion it is sufficient to take a look at the city
and street signs or the Internet addresses in all countries. On the
other hand, experience has shown that efforts to teach millions of
Iranian young people abroad in reading and writing Persian mostly
prove to be unsuccessful, due to the lack of daily contact with the
Persian script. It seems that a way out of this dilemma has been
found; and that is the use of the
Latin scriptLatin script parallel to the Persian
script.
Transliteration[edit]
TransliterationTransliteration (in the strict sense) attempts to be a complete
representation of the original writing, so that an informed reader
should be able to reconstruct the original spelling of unknown
transliterated words. Transliterations of Persian are used to
represent individual Persian words or short quotations, in scholarly
texts in English or other languages that do not use the Arabic
alphabet.
A transliteration will still have separate representations for
different consonants of the
Persian alphabetPersian alphabet that are pronounced
identically in Persian. Therefore, transliterations of Persian are
often based on transliterations of Arabic.[1] The representation of
the vowels of the Perso-Arabic alphabet is also complex, and
transliterations are based on the written form.
Transliterations commonly used in the English-speaking world include
BGN/PCGN romanizationBGN/PCGN romanization and ALA-LC Romanization.
Non-academic English-language quotation of Persian words usually uses
a simplification of one of the strict transliteration schemes
(typically omitting diacritical marks) and/or unsystematic choices of
spellings meant to guide English speakers using English spelling rules
towards an approximation of the Persian sounds.
Transcription[edit]
Transcriptions of Persian attempt to straightforwardly represent
Persian phonologyPersian phonology in the Latin script, without requiring a close or
reversible correspondence with the Perso-Arabic script, and also
without requiring a close correspondence to English phonetic values of
Roman letters.
Main romanization schemes[edit]

DMG (1969), a strict scientific system by the German Oriental Society
(Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft). It corresponds to Deutsches
Institut für Normung standard DIN 31635.[2]
ALA-LC (1997), the ALA-LC romanization.[3]
BGN/PCGN (1958), the BGN/PCGN romanization.[4]
EI (1960), the system used in early editions of Encyclopædia
Iranica.[2]
EI (2012), its contemporary modification.[5]
UN (1967), the Iranian national system (1966), that was approved by
the
UNGEGNUNGEGN in 1967.[6][7]
UN (2012), its contemporary modification.[6][8]

^ a b c d Used as a vowel as well.
^ a b c
HamzaHamza and ayn are not transliterated at the beginning of
words.
^ a b c d The dot below may be used instead of cedilla.
^ At the beginning of words the combination ⟨خو⟩ was pronounced
/xw/ or /xʷ/ in Classical Persian. In modern varieties the glide /ʷ/
has been lost, though the spelling has not been changed. It may be
still heard in Dari as a relict pronunciation. The combination /xʷa/
was changed to /xo/ (see below).
^ a b c d e f g h i In Dari.
^ a b c Not transliterated at the end of words.
^ a b In the combination ⟨یة⟩ at the end of words.
^ When used instead of ⟨ت⟩ at the end of words.
^ Diacritical signs (harakat) are rarely written.
^ After ⟨خ⟩ from the earlier /xʷa/. Often transliterated as xwa
or xva. For example, خو
ر /xor/ "sun" was /xʷar/ in Classical
Persian.
^ a b After vowels.

Pre-Islamic period[edit]
In the pre-Islamic period Old and Middle Persian employed various
scripts including Old Persian cuneiform, Pahlavi and Avestan scripts.
For each period there are established transcriptions and
transliterations by prominent linguists.[5][9][10][11][12]

IPA
Old Persian[i][ii]
Middle Persian
(Pahlavi)[i]
Avestan[i]

Consonants

p
p

f
f

b
b

β~ʋ~w
—
β
β/w

t
t
t, t̰

θ
θ/ϑ

d
d

ð
—
(δ)
δ

θr
ç/ϑʳ
θʳ/ϑʳ

s
s

z
z

ʃ
š
š, š́, ṣ̌

ʒ
ž

c~tʃ
c/č

ɟ~dʒ
j/ǰ

k
k

x
x
x, x́

xʷ
xʷ/xᵛ

g
g
g, ġ

ɣ
ɣ/γ

h
h

m
m
m, m̨

ŋ
—
ŋ, ŋʷ

ŋʲ
—
ŋ́

n
n
n, ń, ṇ

r
r

l
l

w~ʋ~v
v
w
v

j
y
y, ẏ

Vowels

Short

a
a

ã
—
ą, ą̇

ə
—
ə

e
—
(e)
e

i
i

o
—
(o)
o

u
u

Long

aː
ā

ɑː~ɒː
—
å/ā̊

ə
—
ə̄

əː
—
ē

iː
ī

oː
—
ō

uː
ū

Notes:

^ a b c Slash signifies equal variants.
^ There exist some differences in transcription of Old Persian
preferred by different scholars:

Other romanization schemes[edit]
Bahá'í Persian romanization[edit]
Main article: Bahá'í orthography
Bahá'ís use a system standardized by Shoghi Effendi, which he
initiated in a general letter on March 12, 1923.[13] The Bahá'í
transliteration scheme was based on a standard adopted by the Tenth
International Congress of Orientalists which took place in
GenevaGeneva in
September 1894.
Shoghi EffendiShoghi Effendi changed some details of the Congress's
system, most notably in the use of digraphs in certain cases (e.g. sh
instead of š), and in incorporating the solar letters when writing
the definite article al- (Arabic: ال) according to pronunciation
(e.g. ar-Rahim, as-Saddiq, instead of al-Rahim, al-Saddiq).
A detailed introduction to the Bahá'í Persian romanization can
usually be found at the back of a Bahá'í scripture.
ASCII Internet romanizations[edit]
It is common to write
Persian languagePersian language with only the Latin alphabet
(as opposed to the Persian alphabet) especially in online chat, social
networks, emails and SMS. It has developed and spread due to a former
lack of software supporting the Persian alphabet, and/or due to a lack
of knowledge about the software that was available. Although Persian
writing is supported in recent operating systems, there are still many
cases where the
Persian alphabetPersian alphabet is unavailable and there is a need
for an alternative way to write Persian with the basic Latin alphabet.
This way of writing is sometimes called Fingilish or Pingilish (a
portmanteau of Farsi or Persian and English). In most cases this is an
ad hoc simplification of the scientific systems listed above (such as
ALA-LC or BGN/PCGN), but ignoring any special letters or diacritical
signs.

Tajik Latin alphabet[edit]
Main article: Tajik alphabet
The
Tajik languageTajik language or Tajik Persian is a variety of the Persian
language. It was written in
Tajik SSRTajik SSR in a standardized Latin script
from 1926 until the late 1930s, when the script was officially changed
to Cyrillic. However, Tajik phonology differs slightly from that of
Persian in Iran. As the result of these two factors romanization
schemes of the Tajik Cyrillic script follow rather different
principles.[14]

UniPers[edit]
UniPers (Persian: پارسى جهانى‎, Pârsiye Jahâni) is a
devised
Latin alphabetLatin alphabet for Persian. It focuses on making Persian
easier to read, as opposed to the Perso-Arabic script. There are a lot
of spelling rules and exceptions one must memorize in the Perso-Arabic
script, and the UniPers
Latin alphabetLatin alphabet contains a simpler and a more
consistent orthography. UniPers intends to make
Persian languagePersian language and
culture readily available to all individuals regardless of education
level, background, race, etc.[16]